Machine for bending and shaping rolled irons and the like



MACHINE FOR BENDING AND SHAPING ROLLED IRONS AND THE LIKE Nov.- 23,1948. E. BUGATTI I ,4

Filed Sept. 11, 1945 4'Sheets-Sheet 1 4 smug-sheet 2 Z M u N W ks Q m 4QR 7 E W @N m: R V

Filed Sept. 11', 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 fi M7////% Nov. 23, 1948. E.BUGATTl MACHINE'FOR BENDING AND SHAPING ROLLED IRONS AND THE LIKE FiledSept. 11, 1945 F R a a a 2 n E 3. $1,. a Q Q b mu M 7 w x N. N \N R E m7 \NN NV m .[I N a aw E N a l N Q NV an N v %N Q v R 5 as u m a 2v 4Shets-Sheet 4 ik L E. BUGATTI BENDING AND SHQPING RONS AND THE LIKE-Nov. 23, 1948.

I MACHINE FOR 7 ROLLED 1 Filed Sept. 11, 1945 Patented Nov. 23, 1948MACHINE FOR BENDING AND SHAPING ROLLED IRONS AND THE LIKE EttoreBugatti, Paris, France Application September 11, 1945, Serial No.615,635 In France May 31, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August s, 1946Patent expires May 31, 1964 1 When making metal constructions, forinstance in shipbuilding, rolled irons (angle irons,

T-shapes and so on) bent according to intricate and quite various curvesare required.

Specifically, ribs for ship hulls generally consist of rolled ironshaving an uneven angle sec tion, which are bent to follow the variouscrosssections of said hulls. The flange which is assembled with themetal sheets forming the hull wall should obviously correspond in shapeto the sheets, so that the angle between the iron flanges varies from anend of each rib to the other end thereof, and from a rib to another one.

Hence, the angle irons and, as the case may be, the T-shaped ironsemployed in constructing hulls require two separate transformations towit hot bending and hot shaping.

At the present time both operations are usually carried outsimultaneously so as to avoid numerous heatings. A method which isalmost generally resorted to consists in hammering the irons on a tableor surfaceplate with a plurality of holes. Pins or pegs are suitably setinto the table, and for this purpose one selects those holes whichcorrespond to the outline of the rib to be produced, and thus guide theirons as the operation proceeds. Shaping takes place simultaneously,according to cross-section templates or patterns applied at variouspoints along the irons.

It is superfluous to go into details as to the drawbacks of such amethod, which are common to all manual forging operations and are mainlyto require numerous and very skilled manpower and to give a poorlyaccurate work as well as an output restricted by low elficiency ofthemeans In use.

It is an object of my invention to substitute for manual hammering asabove roughly set forth, a process which may be carried out withmachines adapted for a speedy work and a great accuracy, without skilledmanpower.

According to a preferred embodiment of this invention, the machinecomprises a table or surface plate as usually employed, the angle iron(or T-shaped iron) being laid on said table into which pegs or pins areinserted according to the outline to be produced.

The iron is held on the table wherever this is possible, i. e. where itis in contact with pegs, by means of dogs analogous to those employed byjoiners to fix a plank on a bench.

A lengthwise and cross-wise movable carriage is adapted to'travel abovethe table; the carriage is provided with three conical rollers one ofwhich 11 Claims. (Cl. 153-28) rolls along the wing or flange of the ironlying flat on the table. The second and third rollers which nip theupstanding wing or flange, the slant of which must be altered accordingto the cross-section templates or patterns, are carried on a supportadapted to turn in a plane perpendicular to the table. The turningsupport is a member of said movable carriage, and takes part in any andall longitudinal and traverse displacements thereof. The longitudinaldisplacements are controlled from pulling or pushing means which tend toapply the iron against the pegs. The longitudinal displacements areindependent of the transverse displacements, and are effected by asuitable control which performs one stroke for each iron to be bent. Thecombined movements which start from an end of the iron, enable ofdeforming the latter according to the outline delineated by pegs.Simultaneously, the second and third rollers which revolve in a planeperpendicular to the table, cause a variation of the iron section bymore or less inclining the wing or flange nipped between them.

Lastly, the combination of said three rollers is adapted to swing aboutan axis at right angles to the table, in order that said rollers arealways normal to the various curves to be produced.

To sum up, the carriage and its three rollers automatically travel alongthe iron, permanently urging it against the pegs and thus compelling itto correspond in shape to the outline delineated by said pegs. Moreovera first manual control causes the slant of the shaping rollers to varywhile a second manual control steers the three rollers about a verticalaxis, along the sinuosities of the curve.

Therefore, in driving the machine, care should be taken in order thatboth hand controlled movements (shaping and bending of iron) arecorrectly performed as the automatic movements of the carriage(longitudinal and transverse movements) cooperate in shaping the iron asrequired.

The size of the machine will be selected to suit thevarious kinds ofirons to be shaped; it is possiblewith one machine to treat irons havinga big section in hot condition and to treat irons having a small sectionor even a middle section where the latter are to be given only smallcurvatures, without previously heating them.

The following description with reference to the appended drawings givensolely by way of nonlimitative examples will show how this invention maybe carried out.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating the movements of acarriage in a machine according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevation view illustrating the movements of the ironshaping rollers in a transverse plane.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of a machine constructed in accordance withthis invention.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the machine.

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of means for controlling movements of shapingrollers.

Fig. 6 shows a modification wherein the carriage is moved transverselyby means of a hydraulic cylinder. v b

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the device shown onFig. 6.

The table or surface plate I has a very great number of holes such as 2,into a number of which pegs 3 are inserted, according to a predeterminedpattern. The pegs 3 are preferably each provided with a head which isoffset with respect to the stem 4 so that by a suitable rotation, theouter surface of head 5 is brought in tangential relationship with thepattern or template. A suitable device to be hereinafter describedenables of locking pegs 3 after adjustment of the position of heads 5.

The iron 6 to be bent and previously heated is secured on the table bymeans of dogs which will be placed in proximity to points of contact ofiron with some pegs 5 for instance heads 5a, 5b pegs 3. The points ofcontact Will of course be those where sliding of iron 6 on table I willbe restricted to a minimum during bending.

Conical rollers I and 8 supported on a carriage to be described later onand not shown on Fig. I perform together with said carriage two motions,the directions of which are indicated by arrow 9 for the crosswisemotion and arrow II! for the lengthwise motion.

Iron 6, the original shape of which is illustrated by full lines on theleft of arrow 9 has already been bent tothe required outline as concernsthe portion on the right of arrow 9. At the end of the operation, afterrollers I and 8 have travelled along the whole length of iron 6 thelatter will assume the outline indicated by chain and dot lines(reference character 6 bis) and its upstanding flange II will beinclined according to the angle to which rollers I and 8 will be set intheir swinging motion in a transverse plane.

The latter motion (Fig. 2) which does not affect conical roller I2,permanently bearing on the horizontal flange l3 of iron 6, takes placeabout a center I4 according to arrow I5 or arrow I6 so as more or lessto incline flange II.

Fig. 3 shows with more details the construction of a machine accordingto this invention. The carriage which supports rollers I, 8 and I2 ismoved lengthwise over table I, being guided by vertical rollers I! andhorizontal rollers l8 which roll above, below and side wise with respectto table I.

Rollers I! and I8 are idly supported on pins fast with posts or uprightsI9 and 2!! which together with cylindrical cross beams 2i and 22constitute the longitudinally movable part of the carriage. Said crossbeams are held 'in bosses 23 and 24 on uprights l9 and 2B, the bossesbeing split to enable jamming by means of bolts 25. The crosswisemovement is accomplished along cross beams 2|, 22 on which a support 26is slidably mounted.

Pivotally held about a vertical axis in said support 26 is a shell 21provided with a trunnion 28 borne through a sleeve 29 in support 26. Together with side cheeks 30, 3| (Figs. 3 and 4), the shell 21 provides aslide way for a sector 32 the movements of which ensure the shaping ofiron 6. M

For this purpose, a bearing 33 fast with sector 32 is adapted to holdthe left roller 1 through a trunnion 34 and the right roller 8 through asleeve 35 accommodated in the bore 36 of said bearing. Roller I isaxially retained b the side face 31 of bearing 33 and a big screw 38locked in a screw threaded bore of trunnion 34, leaving sufiicientclearance to allow of rotation of roller 1. The position of said rollerI is not adjustable, and when it is desired to bend an iron the flangeof which has a thickness very different from that of iron 3, a roller ofdifferent diameter should be substituted for roller I.

Roller 8 is coupled with a spindle 39 revolving in sleeve 35, by afeather 40 and a, big screw 4| similar to screw 38 above mentioned. Said roller 8 transfers to an abutmen't 42 through spindle 39, the forceresulting from the pressure exerted on the flange I I of iron 6 inoperation, which pressure is steadily directed tothe -left of Fig. 3(direction of arrow 9 on Fig. l). Abutment 42 engages the face 43 ofbearing 33; the axial position of roller 8 and its spindle 39 isadjusted by means of a split nut 44 which is locked by a bolt 45 afteradjustment and is, spaced apart from abutment 42 by a washer 46 providedfor the purpose of preventing unscrewing of nut 44 by friction onabutment 42. The latter is preferably a ball bearing. Roller I2 ispermanently pressed on the horizontal flange I3 of iron 6 by the stressimposed on a Belleville washer 4'! held in the upper part of support 26which stands at an invariable height. Washer 41 is connected with theupper end of trunnion 28 on shell 21; to this end, the centerpart ofsaid Washer is pushed on a-shoulder 48 oftrunnion 28 by a sleeve 49riveted at 50 on the upper part of trunnion 28. v

The adjustment of the position of roller I2 with respect to thetop oftable I (said adjustnent being dependent on the thickness of the flangeI3 of iron 6 and the pressure to be imposed on said iron) isperformed bymeans of a nut 52. For thispurpose, nut 52 is provided with a series ofholes 53; washer 4'! is nipped in a housing 54 of nut 52 by a screwthreaded ring 55. The upper part 56 of support 26 in which nut 52 isscrewed or unscrewed so as to adjust the elevation of roller I2 is splitat 51, and squeezing collar 58 operated by a bolt 59 prevents anydisadjustment.

The vertical motion in which, as a matter of fact, shell 21, sector'32-, bearing 33 and rollers! and 8 participate, is transmitted toroller t2 by a spindle 60 bolted at 6| on shell 21.

Roller I 2 revolves on a pin 62 fast with spindle 60, between a shoulder63 fat the base of pin 62 and the head of a screw Msimilar to screws 38and 4| mentioned with reference to rollers I and 8. r

The spindle 60 is movable vertically owing to elongated holes 65 throughwhich :pass screws 61 to enable of making 'a rough adjustment of thetension of washer 47 and position of roller I2. During the verticalmovement, the rollers :1 and 8 move towards or away from the surface oftable I and the flange I3 of iron 6 with which they-never come intocontact, as sufficient clearance has been. provided.

With a view to removing axial and radial play of roller I2 on itsspindle, -a, second conical roller '66 accommodated in an aperture '6!in spindle 60 permanently presses roller I 2 on which it rolls inoperation. An offset spindle 88 axially held by a groove 69 and a screw10 witha cylindrical tip screwed in spindle 60 is used to vary thepressure transmitted to roller I2. The spindle 68 has a head of bigdiameter provided with a series of holes H for operation purpose, and acylindrical part 12 on which a ball 14 is pushed by means of a screw 13,to hold spindle 68 in the desired angular position. The roller66provided for this purpose with a sleeve 16 revolves on the offset part15 of spindle 66; a friction ring 11 is interposed between the upperface of roller 66 and the corresponding face of aperture 61, and conveyspressure to iron 6 through rollers 66 and I2.

The combination of support 26, shell 21, sector 32, hearing 33, spindle60,rollers 66, I2, 1 and 8 is drawn or pushed permanently towards theleft of the figure. For this purpose, a stirrup 18 the legs of which mayswing about a pin 19 passing through bearing 33, girdles thecombination. A cable 80 passing through a hole I9a in post I9 andactuated by a winch or any similar device is attached to a fork 8| inwhich a cylindrical roller 82 held bya pin 83 revolves. The roller 82 isadapted to roll on the cylindrical vertical face of stirrup 18 so as toallow swinging motion of the apparatus about the axis of trunnion 28whereas the pivot materialized as pin 19 provides for rotation of sector32 and rollers 1 and 8, which rotation is necessary for shaping iron 6.

Iron 6 is held at any place where this is possible by dogs such as 84bearing on the horizontal flange I3. Said flange I3 abuts against theoiTset head 5 of pegs 3 one of which is shown on Fig. 3; a screw 85passing through peg 3 locks the latter which is split at its lower part86 together with a male cone 81.

Idle rollers 1, 8, I2 and 66 are mounted with a smooth fit on theirspindles. However, any other kind of bearing (ball-bearing,roller-bearing, needle-bearing and so on) may be used.

For controlling the swinging movement about the axis of trunnion 28,which, as hereinbefore set forth, is. necessary in order that rollers 1,8 and I2 lie in a plane normal to the curves along which the iron shouldbe bent, there is provided a double lever 88 the hub of which is splinedat Y 89 to engage the upper end 90 of trunnion 28. The operation is madeby hand while the rollers travel along iron 6.

A second manual control, as mentioned in the opening part of thisspecification, is constructed as illustrated by Fig. 5. A toothed sector9| is integral with sector 32 and meshes With a pinion 92, the sections93 and 94 of which revolve respectively in a bore 95 of shell 21 and ina support 96 attached to the side cheek 3| by a series of screws 91. Theouter end 98 of section 94 is provided with a head 99 riveted at I andhaving holes 99a so as to enable actuation by means of a bar IOI (Fig.3). The actuation is also made by hand in the direction of arrow I02 soas to open the angle of iron 6 as required by shaping patterns.

Fig. further shows that side cheek 30 is secured by a series of screws30a. The other cheek is secured similarly.

In this example, the carriage is moved on table I in lengthwisedirection (Fig. 4) by a pair of roller chains I03 attached to the lowerpart of posts I9 and 20, one of which I9 is shownon the figure. Locatedat the four corners of the table I are sprocket wheels I04 and I 05keyed on shafts I06 and I01. The latter revolve in brackets I08 boltedat the ends of table I. The drivemay be imparted from an electric orother motor which is located for instance under table I and controlsshaft I06 or I01 through a chain or a train of suitable reducing gears.The crosswise movement of the carriage may be obtained in various ways,otherwise than by means of a cable and a winchas described withreference to Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 shows an embodiment of a modification. A cylinder I09 containingoil or another liquid guides a piston IIO provided with a plastic ring II I. Pressure liquid admitted into right chamber II2 of said cylinderthrough a port II3 permanently pushes piston IIO towards the left.Through its stem II4, piston I I0 drives support 26 and consequently thewhole transverse carriage including rollers I, 8 and I2. Rod I I4 isconnected with support26 through a fork H5 integral with rod 4, a pin H6and a boss II1 on support 26. Rod II4 passes through the end wall II8 ofleft chamber H9 in cylinder I09 and said wall II8 has a series of holesI 20 to allow egress of air. Cylinder I09 is combined with the rightpost 20 andis located between cross bars 2I and 22. Plastic ring III isheld against the wall of piston |I0 by a plate I2I and the extension I22of rod I I4, which abuts through a shoulder I22a thereon against the hubI23 of piston I I0, retains the whole either by its having a flaredouter end or by a nut.

The operation of the device is-illustrated by thediagram of Fig '1. Atank I24 communicating with atmosphere through its plug I25 is connectedwith the section side of a pump I26 which forces liquid into the rightchamber H2 in cylinder I09 through port II3.

So long as the iron 8 must have an acute angle section, piston H0 ismoved to the left, driving the carriage therewith. Tank I24 has asufficient content to fill the volume of chamber II2 as piston I I0moves. When the angle of iron section must be obtuse, the carriage movespiston IIO to the right thus building up in the right chamber H2 2.higher pressure than that which prevailed in the leftward stroke. Avalve I21 urged by a spring I28 opens when the pressure exceeds apredetermined limit and from now on pump I26 delivers liquid directlyinto tank I24 through pipe I29 fromvalve I21 to tank I24.

When'the pressure past pump I26 decreases by reason of piston IIOslowing down in the vicinity of the end of its stroke, valve I21 isgradually shut, and eventually pump I26 again delivers liquid intochamber H2 in cylinder I09. Thus the liquid pressure in said chamber H2varies between two limits which may be rendered fairly proximate inorder that the force imparted to the carriage is almost constant.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a bed having aflat top service; a primary carriage adapted to travel on said bed;means on the bed cooperating with said carriage, for guiding the samealong a predetermined rectilinear path; a secondary carriage adapted totravel on the primary carriage in overhanging position with respect tosaid .bed surface; means on the primary carriage cooperating with thesecondary carriage for guiding the same along a path located crosswisewith respect to the firstnamed path; and an iron distorting headsupported from the secondary carriage for pivotal movement about an axisperpendicular to said bed surface.

2. The combination of claim .1, wherein the first named means includelaterally projecting rails on two parallel sides of the bed, and theprimary carriage has at least three wheels on each corresponding side,arranged to roll on the top, bottom and outer edge of the correspondingrail respectively.

3. The combination of claim 1, which further comprises at least onechain attached to the primary carriage; a sprocket wheel rotatably borneon said bed, cooperating with said chain; and means on said bed formoving said chain to drive said primary carriage.

4. The combination of claim 1, which further comprises means on theprimary carriage fbi moving the secondary carriage thereon along thesecond-named path.

5. The combination of claim 1, which further comprises a winch on theprimary carriage; and a cable operatively interposed between said winchand said secondary carriage.

6. The combination of claim 1, which further comprises a hydrauliccylinder and a plunger movable therein, one of which is fast with theprimary carriage and the other one is fast with the secondary carriage,for moving the latter on the primary carriage.

7. An iron shaping head for a machine of the type described, whichcomprises a rigid support having a concave cylindrical sli-dew-ay; aslide movably carried by said support, having a cylindrical bearingsurface operatively engaging said slideway; an arcuate rack fast withsaid slide; a control pinion meshing with said rack, revolubly borne insaid support; and a pair of bevel rollers pivotably supported on saidslide with their axes substantially at right angles to one another, saidrollers being arranged to provide between their operative surfaces a gapwhich lies substantially radially with respect to said cylindricalslideway.

8. An iron distorting head for a machine of the type described, whichcomprises a rigid member; a tool supported from said member; anadjustment pin rotatably set in said member, having an excenteredsurface; a conical roller arranged to provide a rolling support for saidmember, revolubly :borne on the same; and a thrust supporting roller,revolubly borne on said excentered member of the adjustment pin, adaptedand arranged to contact said conical roller on its operative surface.

9. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a bed having aflat top surface; a carriage adapted to travel on said bed, including arigid member above said surface; means on the bed cooperating with thecarriage, for guiding said'carriage along a predetermined path; an irondistorting head including .a top trunnion; means on the carriage rigidmember, providingfor said trunnion abearing having its axisperpendicular to said he'd surface; a rotatable control member having ascrew=thread engagement with said carriage rigid member; and resilientmeans rotatably coupled with said trunnion, for connecting said controlmember with said trunnion.

10. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a bed havinga flat top surface; a carriage adapted. to travel 'on said bed,including 'a rigid member above said surface; means on the bedcooperating with the carriage, for guiding said carriage along apredetermined path; an iron distorting head including a top trunnion;means 'on the carriage rigid member, providing for said trunnion abearing having its axis perpendicular to said bed surface; a rotatablecontrol member having a screw-thread engagement withsaid carriage rigidmember; resilient means rotatably coupled with said trunnion, forconnecting said control member with said trunnion; and means fast withsaid trunnion for turning the same about said bearing axis.

11. In a machine of the type prescribed, the combination of a bed havinga flat top surface; a primary carriage adapted to travel on said bed;means on the bed cooperating with said carriage, for guiding the samealong a predetermined rectilinear path; a secondary carriage adapted totravel on the primary carriage in overhanging position with respect tosaid bed surface; means on the primary carriage cooperating with thesecondary carriage for guiding the same along a path located crosswisewith respect to the firstnamed path; an iron distorting head; and meansforsupporting said iron distorting head from said secondary carriage,providing a pivotalaxls for said head perpendicular to said bed surfaceand a further pivotal axis for the same parallel to said bed surface. I

ETTORE BUGATTI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,773,812 Fry Aug. 26, 19391,990,255 Sonntag Feb. 5, 1935 2,348,185 Bartee May 9, 1944 FoREiGNPATENTS Number Country Date 536,935 Great Britain May 30, 1941

